Sam's or Costco - do they really save you $$

[sadiebug]

Money is really tight in our house and we are looking at ways to save more and spend less. One of our biggest expenses seems to be food. I do coupon to an extent and I am not completely stuck on name-brands, but still seem to spend more than I'd like on groceries.

I was wondering if it would be worth it to join Sam's Club or Costco? What do you find are the better buys there as opposed to the grocery store? What things would you NOT buy there?

Also, which do you think is better - Sam's or Costco?

Any advice is much appreciated!

 

[MEM]

We have memberships at Costco and BJs. The nearest Sam's Club to us was 15 miles away - it has since closed and now the nearest one is 50 miles away.

We feel that the Costco membership pays for itself with the savings on milk alone. We also buy 50 pound bags of bread flour, toilet paper, grated Parmesan cheese, 10 pound bag of frozen skinless chicken breast planks and a few other staples. DH goes alone because he has the most restraint.

BJs we are probably not renewing - the prices seem very high compared to the chain supermarkets.

Just make sure to bring a list with you and do not stray from that list - its way too easy to buy things you don't need because the price seems like a good deal.

 

[momof1princess]

it really depends on what you buy. we have a sam's club membership, and it does save us money. the ground beef there is much cheaper: we buy 90% lean ground sirloin, and get it for the price of ground chuck at our local grocery stores (when the grocery stores put ground chuck on sale-regular price is higher). we get splenda, school snacks (100 calorie packs, nature valley bars, etc.), toilet paper, vitamins and lunch meat much cheaper than even wal-mart.

 

[momof3ds]

We have a bj's membership, no costco around here.

BJ's takes manufacturer coupons as well as their own coupons. They send out a new coupon book every month.

Their deli counter items are cheaper than local stores and I know milk and eggs are cheaper there as well.

We also got a great deal on our recent flat screen TV purchases and we have the membership where we get 2% back so that pays for the membership plus some extra.

 

[mikehn]

Do they save money? It depends. I can tell you for sure none of these clubs save our family any money. But its not about saving money for us, we love shopping there anyways.

Unit prices are probably cheaper at a club than an ordinary grocery store. However, a majority of the purchases at these clubs are impulse purchases, which wipes out any savings you get from lower unit prices. They can get you to buy things you normally would not buy. Costco and Sams are masters at this business model.

On top of that, you have to have a large family or be very disciplined at minimizing waste as most of the food products are sold in bulk.

 

[kokotg]

IME, there's not much that's cheaper at Costco than grocery store sale prices. We do hold onto a membership, but mostly because we have a good cash back program with our Costco Amex--we get a lot more back every year than we spend on the membership.

 

[divabydisney]

I think like pp have said, it depends on your shopping habbits and what you buy. I find I spend more money there. I have priced out paper products (napkins, paper towels, tp, diapers) between Wal-mart and Sams and Wal-mart always wins. I have both Sams and Costco. I swear by the Costco cake. But stuff I always used to buy at Sams is now appearing in Wal-mart in the larger quantities so no it doesn't save. Also like mac & cheese, the boxes in bulk have a smaller volume. So it initially appears you are getting more when you aren't. For example, Kraft mac & cheese is like 8oz boxes vs the 10 oz you get in the store or whatever it is. Even juice boxes are smaller. It totally drives me nuts. Then I have to find a way to store the bulk product. But I usually buy $400 worth of meat (all kinds) and then when I get home break it alldown and air seal it and stick it in the deep freeze. I love doing that so all winter we just pick out a meat and makes my other shopping go a little smoother and not buying so much junk. But I don't know that it saves me THAT much $. Also I know you aren't supposed to but we (my sister/mom/I) always piggy back on memberships so we split the membership fees.

 

[daughtersrus]

I buy just about all of my meat at Sam's. I have a business membership which allows me to get in early. I head right to the meat dept and see what they've marked down that needs to be sold/frozen within a day or so. Last time I got 90% lean ground beef for $1.89lb! DH got me a FoodSaver last year and I repackage everything into meal size portions to freeze as soon as I get home.

I also do pretty well on some things like cheese slices, Country Crock, milk, eggs, bananas, baby wipes...The whipped cream cakes are to die for! We always get them for parties and they're less than 1/4 of the price that our local Jewel sells them for and taste A LOT better.

Edited to add...

Gas is also about 10Cents/gallon cheaper at Sam's. When you're take is 33 gallons like mine, every bit helps.

 

[sadiebug]

The things that we would probably be buying most would be:

meat - hamburger, steak, chicken, pork
frozen waffles
milk
snacks for school - pudding, peanut butter crackers, cheez-it's, fruit cups, capri sun
paper products - napkins, tp, paper plates

We don't have a BJ's in our area, so that is out. I've been in Sam's once as a guest, but thought that the prices seemed higher than what I would pay for things on sale at the grocery store. Just wasn't sure if that was a correct assumption or not.

 

[TinkPirateMom]

I go to Sam's Club. My Mom got me the membership I find that when I am having a party is when I really save money going there because that is when I need to buy things in bulk. Things like veggie trays and cookie trays are cheaper there. Flowers are cheaper also if you need centerpieces. I would also say I save money on meats and paper products on a regular basis.

 

[mindyd]

It does save us money but you really have to watch there are some things cheaper and some things that aren't. I think you can go in and look around before you decide on a membership. It is definitely worth it for any type of party I am having. We get our card for free from my husbands work. I know that Milk is much cheaper there then anywhere else and also our bread is much cheaper there.

 

[rszdtrvl]

On a regular basis, at Costco, we buy :

Dog Food
Allergy Medicine

 

[crisi]

It depends on how much discipline you have. Generally milk and eggs are cheaper, usually meat. We don't buy a lot of produce because it comes in too large a quantity. I also buy dog food and laundry detergent and some paper products (toilet paper). I think the school snacky stuff is cheaper - but cheaper still is to skip the juice boxes and pudding cups and send pretzels (which Costco and Sams Club have in huge buckets).

But when you start believing that you NEED huge containers of chocolate covered raisins, then you stop saving.

I can't take my husband. When I do the costco bill triples.

 

[Leshaface]

I really enjoy the meats and fish from Costco. I can buy a huge slab of fresh salmon for $20, cut it down into fillets and it makes (for the 2 of us) 4 meals which I freeze. Very cheap and healthy! I also buy the bulk gum (go through a pack and a half a week) and Kirkland's Fruit and Nut Medley <---pretty much obsessed with this stuff.

I still haven't figured out if it's cheaper to get toilet paper there vs target. I'm assuming it has to be cheaper at Costco right? And we buy the creamer for my husband (the three pack of 2 french vanilla and 1 hazelnut) since he goes through that stuff like crazy.

 

[Fire14]

I have Sam's and costco. I buy meats, some dry goods, snacks, laundry soap at costco. and few odds and ends at Sams club.

Where I save is on photo printing.

I find paper products and soda are cheaper at supermarkets but it could be brands I buy.

 

[RachaelA]

We always end up buying stuff we don't need. I'm way too lazy to price out stuff at every store though so its nice to be able to go to Costco a couple times a month and get water, paper towels, toilet paper, etc for a decent price.

 

[dgthree]

I was wondering if it would be worth it to join Sam's Club or Costco? What do you find are the better buys there as opposed to the grocery store? What things would you NOT buy there?

No opinion on Sams, but I do like my Costco membership. I figure it pays for itself in bottled water. I can get a case of 35 500ml bottles for just under $5, which works out to 14¢ a bottle - the same ones I would buy in my office cafe for 99¢ - so with two cases of water, the membership is covered.

I'm only one person, so some of the bulk items are just too much for me to go through, but there are enough things that make it worth it for me

Some of what I buy on a regular basis at Costco are AMC theatre tickets, trash bags, allergy meds, advil, gum, granola bars, chicken breast, string cheese, grape tomatoes, cucumbers, lemons, apples & cherries.

If I'm ever in the market for small appliances, I will check Costco's pricing, which is usually pretty good.

I don't think soda or paper products are a huge savings at the warehouse clubs, unless they're offering a coupon on them.

Also, I do like buying electronics there not only because of the price, but also because of the way they stand behind the products they sell.

 

[AnnaS]

I spend more money when I shop at Costco. You really need to know your prices and need to stick to the list.

Another option I find many people doing - they shop at two/three supermarkets each week and buy their sale items. I can't do that either -

 

[momof1princess]

I spend more money when I shop at Costco. You really need to know your prices and need to stick to the list.

Another option I find many people doing - they shop at two/three supermarkets each week and buy their sale items. I can't do that either -

this is my strategy for shopping at sam's as well.

 

[hanutedmansionmomma]

I know we don't save $ at Sam's. I am a couponer and unit price comparer, and haven't found enough less expensive stuff to make it worth it.

We did buy everyone's eyeglasses there the last go-round and they were slightly cheaper but quality was cheaper too.

If you are willing to make up 6 pounds of ground beef into meatballs, hamburgers, ground beef when you get home and put it in containers in the freezer, then yes, it's cheaper per pound (I've done it once or twice). Milk is cheaper. So are some packaged snacks. Those peanut butter sandwich crackers are crazy cheap compared to our grocery store. Other than that, haven't found enough good bargains.

Also, I budget an amount each month. Going to Sam's always breaks my budget. I'd rather spend less today than stockpile 100 rolls of paper towels, even if I save a couple bucks. (I actually stopped buying paper towels and use sham wow type cloths and throw them in the wash instead.)

You'll probably get 50/50 on the responses here. If you're seriously considering it, see if you can get a one-time shopping pass to try it out, or go with a friend that has a membership (you'll have to have them pay and you pay them back later). We used a coupon for membership. Don't think I'm renewing next year.